Jettisoned Ponderings

Finally a chance to see how he’s looking since Olympia. This was just taken earlier today at the end of the 2008 FIBO Expo. I think Dennis is well on his way to taking down Jay this year! Hopefully no politics get in the way this year.

Recovery needed. No idea what I did to my delts but they are not happy with me at all. Rotator cuffs are tight and popping, too. Looks like both GJ and I need a lot of massage work and just plain some time off. I didn’t realize how much the deplete really took out of me until I ate a full meal yesterday and completely crashed. I’m really in no shape to jump back in and start lifting heavier again. This will be a good time to just ease up. GJ still isn’t sure when her next show will be until the other gal figures it out so a little rest before hitting it hard will be good. GJ’s rival is telling her she can’t get a suit in time, but she’s competed before. GJ doesn’t even have a suit yet and it wouldn’t be done until she’s closer to her competition weight anyhow. Sounds like a poor excuse to me, but whatever… GJ’s competing one way or another. So anyhow… week of maintenance much needed and the body’s going to get it.

GJ had her shoot today, which went great. Check out her blog for all that. I did get in on a few shots, so I’ll post those once we get the CD with all the shots.

The deplete went well. I think I loaded a bit too much later in the day. I was reponding really well to loading with natural fructose sugars from the apples. The rice seemed to make me lose a little definition. Then the protein pancakes kinda tanked it a bit as I had to finish off the batter thus intaking a bit more than I would’ve liked. A good learning experience and I think I’ll be in good shape next round to make some fine tuning adjustments and get more out of it. Plus I’ll be much lower in bodyfat then to truly see how well it works.

Tomorrow is back to bulking and normal workouts. Goal is to get up to 215lbs then it’ll all be gradual fat loss through till October. Basically I’ve decided to assume I’ll compete in Oct and find out just how late I can register without increased cost. The date of the event hasn’t even been decided on yet anyhow. Depending on how I’m doing and looking I’ll either compete in Oct or try to jump in early in the ‘09 season for some novice shows. No matter what I plan to within the next year, its just a matter of timing and perfecting a few things. Its gonna be stressful enough with GJ doing her shows to support her in the process, make her meals, etc. and having me be depleted, too, would just add to the insanity. All in due time… For now, nap time. Lunch is making me crash…

Our friend who’s a state champ for figure and fitness mentioned this email that was sent out last month. If you’re doing figure, consider this…

Sunday, March 16, 2008
Jim Manion Directive: Soften Up…Now!

IFBB Chairman Mr. Jim Manion delivered a very clear and concise directive this week to all IFBB Professional Figure athletes just days after the 2008 IFBB Arnold Classic Ms. Figure International. The message…you are too big and hard.

Mincing no words Manion spelled it out in clear English, "After the first figure event for 2008 the Figure International, the IFBB Professional League wants to see less muscularity and hardness in the figure competitors. The Deltoids are too big and cut and the thigh cuts are too deep. The next IFBB professional figure event is the 2008 IFBB Pittsburgh Pro Figure to be held on May 3rd, 2008 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Beginning with this event the judges will be marking down competitors with excessive hardness and muscular separation."

In a brief interview IFBB Men’s judging representative and veteran IFBB Head Judge Jim Rockell stated simply "I applaud him (Jim Manion) for acting swiftly and sending out the letter." Rockell is a guest on Fitness and Figure Talk Radio this week and openly discusses judging criteria for figure.

Cutoff water intake about half an hour ago. Took a serving of DiurX at 3 and another as I swigged down the last of my water. I’ll take one more before I go to bed after the very hot epsom salt soak to sweat a bit more moisture out. Time will tell the rest now. I still have one more meal tonight (two if I’m still not filling out much, but I doubt I’ll go for a second) with mostly simple sugars and some vegetable glycerine. I broke the sad news to GJ this morning (she says I’m evil for even thinking of holding back this info till she tragically would realize it on her own) that she gets to down protein waffles and syrup tonight… with nothing to wash them down! I foresee much mumbling dinner conversation tonight.

Changes so far: Weight went from 194 to 187.5. Bodyfat went from 12.2% to 12%. Visually, here’s the difference:
Front:

Back:

So, yeah, I’m happy both for the enhanced definition but also reloading begins today! Gonna be taking about 50 or so carbs each meal on top of the same foods I’ve been eating the last 4 days. Adding apples to the first two meals and brown rice to the next two. After that I’ll have one last late meal of protein waffles with syrup. Good ‘ol simple sugars for a last reload and insulin spike. Water intake will be cutoff at 4pm today and DiruX will be taken at 3pm, 4pm, and before bed. Also a hot 20 minute epsom salt soak right before bed to help pull and sweat out the last bit of water. Tomorrow morning’s pics will be interesting to see what happens…

For training, just going to do some chest and bicep work this morning as I feel those are my most depleted areas to try and get the muscles to take in even more nutrients.

Yesterday was rough. Not being on my feet and active all day made it a bit harder to push water since I wasn’t getting quite as thirsty. Appetite was all over the place, too. The morning started great with the workout but after meal 2 it was all a gamble. Hungry by meal 3, not so hungry by the time I cooked it, hit the tanning bed and sweat out a bit, thirst crashes, salads sound yummy and I pick up a couple on the way home (I love Mad Greens!), put them in the fridge, raging hungry by the time I eat the first, down it and then I feel cramped. Realize I’m about a litre of water behind schedule. Push that, now not hungry at all the next few hours and don’t want other salad but eat it anyhow. Why haven’t I had to flush in the last 2 hours!? Great, a headache. Down a cup of coffee to try and help, now the stomach is cranky. 45 minutes later it helps a bit. Energy crashes hard, time to play some Xbox to keep me awake until last meal. Down shake which requires 12oz of water. Causes internal hydraulic pressure and flush ensues 5 minutes later. Can I go to bed yet? About 16oz left in my bottle… I’ll get it when I’m sure another flush wakes me up later (downed it at about 1am this morning). So… that was my yesterday.

Today, weighed in at 188.5lbs post AM flush. Bodyfat is reading a solid 12%. Not  bad, but wish it was in single digits for more definition. Oh well… I think the best word to describe how I feel right now is "deflated". I’ve got tone, yes, but not quite as hard of a feel as usual. *shrug*

No weight training today, just hit up the elyptical for 25 minutes on Level 8/9 Intervals. Had a sweat broken by about 6 minutes in and a good stream going from about 12 minutes till the end. Felt good and actually relatively as challenging as the last run on cardio a few weeks ago which was only at Level 4/5 for 20 minutes.

Today is also the last depleting diet day, thankfully. Tomorrow starts the reload where I’ll be taking in about 50-60 carbs per meal and the last meal will be an indulgent simple sugar one of PROTEIN WAFFLES and MAPLE CREAM SYRUP! Yes, we specifically had to go out and get syrup and that one sounded delightful. Sure, it’ll only be one or two waffles, but meh. Depending on how I look a couple hours after that I can have a second one. It all depends on how much my body uptakes the sugars and whether it makes me hold a bit of water still (which I’ll have stopped taking in 2-3 hours beforehand). Also I get to enjoy the wonderful experience of ingesting pure vegetable glycerine. I’m curious how that’ll go… Part of me still thinks, "Why am I ingesting a personal care product?" Oh, right… Plasma expander! ^_^

I’ve been looking around a bit and trying to figure out which trainer cert I want to get, at least for my first one. I was almost set on going for the NCSF after talking with one of my trainer friends, but then when we were at a show I caught up with my old Fitness Manager from the 24 Hour I used to manage. I learned that the training methods that 24 Hour Fitness uses are based on the NASM’s approach. Considering that I’ll be having to start training at entry level and that 24 Hour pretty much dominates the gym market here (some others I’d want to work at I need either a 4 year degree or at least a year or two of experience) I figure this is the most logical path to take. 24 Hour pays more for having up to 3 certs, and I like the idea of having a more diverse knowledge to pool from anyhow. So I’m looking at $599 for the study materials and exam (which is $549 alone). Once the tax return comes in and all bills are caught up this will be my next investment. I’m so excited! At least a third of my massages end up with some sort of fitness related conversation and half of those clients inquire if I do personal training. I really think that this will work out well. Another coworker of mine has started doing more private practice work out of her new home and I mentioned the idea that I’d be interested in doing a joint practice if she was, which sounded good to her. My problem is that a one bedroom apartment isn’t the most conducive to giving massages. While the over-sized bathroom does have a tile floor and I can setup my table in it (which would make it easier to offer scrubs and more spa oriented services), unfortunately it doesn’t give me quite enough room to work in. Working a joint practice would also save me a lot of money by not having to rent out space at another clinic and have to pay more overhead costs.

First things first though, I need to get my materials and get my cert. One step at a time…

Yesterday was another 3 gallons of water down, which is getting to be a very easy task. I actually had to slow down and pace the last half of my water bottle during the afternoon. If my kidneys had anything they needed to flush out its gone now for sure! Appetite was up and down and late afternoon I started getting that feeling of my stomach shrinking almost to the point of not having an appetite. Pushed water and still got my dinner down and felt much better. Took an epsom salt soak, too (only used 1 cup instead of 2) to ease some tense muscles. I have found that my body is starting to feel tighter all around despite pushing the water. Mostly its stiffness in the morning and it gets looser throughout the day. As for the flush, its still working is magic as evidenced by weighing in at 189lbs this morning (down another 1.5lbs from yesterday morning).

Today’s workout was the first time I’ve really felt depleted. The weights used were far lighter than usual and decreased a few times. Upper body only this morning doing 6-8 sets of 15-20 reps with, again, 30 seconds between sets alternating exercises.

8 sets: Supine (Chin-Up) Grip Pulldowns / Prone Grip X Cable Chest Press
8 sets: Standing DB Hammer Curls / Standing 1 DB Overhead Extensions
6 sets: Seated DB Shoulder Press / Prone Incline DB Flies (Prone Grip)

Diet today I’m backing cutting out the peanut butter in favor of going for more greens. Definitely a low calorie day as a result from the reduced fat intake. Turkey and broccoli are up for meal 3. Grilled chicken caesar salads are on the menu for meals 4 and 5 (sans the croutons and using minimal low-fat caesar, which will make up for the few carbs and fat calories I’d get from the peanut butter otherwise). Plus I’ll get a little more fiber out of the greens to promote another detail I added in yesterday…

I started back on the Max Cleanse to help push yet even more out of my system. Took a double serving to kick it off, now just a single through till Sunday. Saturday afternoon the diuretic starts. I was going to use Taraxatone, but instead picked up the last bottle of Max Muscle DiurX (as its been discontinued). Its a more complete blend and taking double serving will be more than equivalent to the Taraxatone’s single serving with all the additional herbs in the blend. What really sucks is that I have to cutoff my water 2 hours before my shift ends at work, plus I need to start the DiurX an hour before as well as at the time of the cutoff. I kinda hope I have a slow day and don’t have to have clients right up until close… So help me if I get a 90 or 120 minute session!

Overall I’m still enjoying this process in a way… I think its mostly the excitement to see just how much I can get out of my physique and really get an idea of what I have to work. Factoring in my bodyfat percentage I could probably look to compete in a middle-weight class or fall just over the line and be at the bottom end of light-heavy depending on how much mass I add on this next bulk run and what I end up retaining from it. Many questions with time told pending answers… Great lesson in patience, lemme tell ya!

I’m posting this because I doubt she will…

GJ’s been wanting to do "something different" with her hair for a while. Me being the one who has an obsession with aesthetics and such, I went hunting for some ideas for her. I think this all stems from always been an art student and a knack for innovation. I may not be good at coming up with completely original ideas, but give me a little to work with and then we’re in business. So I factored in a few variables… She likes shorter hair, I like longer. Medium length sounds like a good compromise. She has beautiful eyes, so a style that draws attention to her face and accentuates her natural geometry, jawline, etc. should come into play. (Jamie Eason’s style is a perfect example of this with how it naturally compliments her jawline) Being that I’m a fan of bangs combined with hair pulled back this usually works out both functionally and fashionably while being manageable for her. Keep them just long enough that if the bangs are in her face they can still be brushed back behind the ears, outside the glasses’ frames, whatever works. Bottom line, versatility needs to be incorporated. Then for coloring. GJ loves purple and her boss has given her the OK to get some tasteful purple highlights and accents. I think she looks best with darker hair, so my vote is to just go black in this case to best blend with the purple (talking a dark shade here, no Jolly Rancher colors). Plus the dark shades again make the eyes stand out more. So… After browsing through a bunch of galleries I came across one that struck me as pretty unique. Keep in mind this is not an exact look of what it would be like and some changes in angles and length would be needed, as mentioned before, to best match the look and shape of her face. This is where you all come in… Yay or Nay?

First, here’s a shot of GJ I took this morning (and put on her profile for her )

Here’s an example of the COLORS that would be used (*NOT THE STYLE!*)

Lastly, here’s the idea for the actual cut. The redish being black, and blonde being purple. Nix the messy part on the model’s right side and the strays on top. Again, angles of cut would be matched to her face.
  

So with this style it could easily be just let down, or to manage it pulled back into a ponytail (would look damn sexy in school girl pigtails, don’t you think Bill? ) or inverted in a hair clip. Want it out of the face, clip it back. When you really think about it, its potentially a very practical cut with versatility and still unique. So what do you guys think? Yay or Nay? (Or any other ideas even?)

*LAST MINUTE EDIT* I should mention that if the style doesn’t suit her liking, this is going to be the backup style, again still black and purple: